Red Mansion: Incense and God Road, starting from the City God of Shenjing

Chapter 35: Changes in Life at the Foot of the West Mountain
The next day, Mid-Autumn Festival

At the end of Yin Shi.

When it was still pitch dark, the emperor left the palace.

The carriages and horses of each noble family followed in turn.

Among the twelve military camps in the capital, the four military camps of Fen, Yao, Lian and Xian had already set out the day before.

Forty thousand troops combed the entire Xishan, including the official road from Shenjing to Xishan, inside and out several times.

Not even a rat hole was spared.

Emperor Shunde issued an order yesterday to keep everything simple and travel light.

Even so, the carriages and horses of each family stretched out for more than twenty miles.

Not to mention the 40,000 troops of the "Four Military Camps" in the Beijing Camp who are in the outer police circles.

The emperor's personal guards, the Dragon Guards, and the Imperial Guards alone numbered nearly 10,000.

The team at the front is about to reach Xishan, while the ones behind have not yet left Shenjing City.

Ningrong Street
By the end of the morning, the sky was already slightly brighter.

Just then I received the news from the eunuch in the palace that I could set off.

This is the first time that the Jia family has been allowed by the royal family to participate in such a grand event since the previous crown prince's rebellion.

It also truly represents the Jia family's return to the circle of nobles.

Otherwise, how could a general who was not even eligible to participate in the annual royal hunting activities be called a true noble?

Led by Lady Jia.

There is no need to talk about Jia Lian, the next generation heir to the title of Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Baoyu, the three sisters of Chun, and Lin Daiyu.

All the young men and women of marriageable age in the mansion are going out today.

Even Jia Huan, the illegitimate son of the second wife, whose situation was not much better than Jia Cong's before, was brought along by Jia Zheng.

There are also Jia Zhen and Jia Rong, father and son, from the East Palace.

Including maids and old women, there were about forty or fifty servants.

There were nearly twenty carriages from Rongguo Mansion, forming a long queue.

Jia Cong rode the white tiger out of the house, glanced at the people in the Jia family and paid no attention to them.

He didn't even have the intention to go up and greet Jia Lian and Jia Zhen.

He went straight to the end of the Jia Mansion’s team.

The seventy-two ghost soldiers transformed into human forms, each of them was seven feet tall and had a strong build.

They were dressed in hideous black beast armor and rode elite war horses.

Holding a spear, a cold light flashed.

Standing still in place, the seventy-two riders were like one person, and there was no sign of disarray in the formation.

Just based on this strict discipline, to outsiders, they are considered to be first-class elite cavalry.

Jia Cong had a vague feeling that this hunting trip might not be peaceful, and Emperor Shunde might be planning something.

I originally wanted Sanchun and others to stay in the mansion.

But on second thought, Xishan is only more than thirty miles away from Shenjing City.

For the existence of the third realm, it is almost within reach.

If something really happens, it will inevitably affect the city of Shenjing.

Compared to the Rongguo Mansion which has long been rotten to the ground, it is safer to be by my side.

So he mobilized two teams of seventy-two ghost soldiers overnight.

He also had Zhang Li and Zhang Mang, two soul-catchers of the third realm with the Ox-Head and Horse-Faced Spirits, hide in the guard team.

Ensure the safety of Sanchun and others at the critical moment. As for the other people in the Jia family, their life and death are determined by fate, and their wealth and honor are in the hands of God.

"set off!"

I checked the team and found nothing was missing.

Jia Cong raised his hand.

The seventy-two ghost soldiers were divided into two columns and set out at the same time.

The sound of "da da da" of neat horse hooves echoed in Ningrong Street.

They trotted forward all the way and just protected the two sides of several carriages.

The servants of the Jia family were frightened and threw themselves into a panic, but the ghost soldiers' formation did not change at all.

These days, it is rare for young ladies from wealthy and powerful families to leave their homes.

Not to mention a royal hunt.

The girl in the mansion was also extremely excited. When she heard the sound of horse hooves, she curiously lifted a corner of the curtain.

But the army appeared solemn and marched in unison.

This was in stark contrast to the guards of other wealthy families walking casually on the road. Daiyu had only been in the mansion for a few days, but her sisterly relationship with Yingchun quickly warmed up.

The same carriage was used for this trip.

Seeing this, he asked curiously.

"Second sister, are there still so many powerful guards in the mansion?"

"I have seen the salt soldiers under Daddy's command in Yangzhou. Their military discipline is lax and they are nothing compared to these guards."

"Is there anyone in the mansion who can train such guards?" Yingchun covered her mouth and chuckled, also secretly looking out the window.

"I heard that these were all trained by Congge himself. Even the guards guarding the gate outside Lin Meimei's courtyard are actually Congge's subordinates and are loyal to him."

"Except for Brother Cong, even the old lady can't command them."

"It turns out that it is the guards arranged by Brother Cong who are helping me..." Lin Daiyu murmured to herself.

"Sister Lin, Second Sister, did you feel the bumps in the car?"

"If you feel bored, you can open the curtain a little to get some fresh air."

Just at this moment, Jia Cong's gentle voice came from outside the carriage.

The white tiger he was riding on looked even bigger than the carriage.

If it weren't for the deliberate restraint of the tiger's might, no carriage would be able to move on the streets of Shenjing City today.

"Everything is fine, Cong, don't worry about us. We still have a long way to go, so you should go find a carriage to rest."

Yingchun waved to the people outside the car.

"Well, I'll go to the front to check on my third and fourth sisters!"

A moment later, Jia Cong rode away on the white tiger, and the shadow outside the car disappeared.

But at this moment, the carriage jolted slightly.

The front door curtain was drawn open.

"Then the third Cong has finally left."

"So many guards, too scary."

"Sister Lin, those crude men just now didn't scare you, did they?"

Jia Baoyu climbed onto the carriage while complaining.

He asked Lin Daiyu in a flattering manner.

But the latter frowned slightly and subconsciously stepped back.

"What are you talking about, Master Bao? Those people outside are guards sent by Brother Cong."

"Even if you didn't do any good for escorting us to Xishan, you still worked hard. How can you be a vulgar person?"

One is "Master Bao" and the other is "Brother Cong".

Daiyu had only been in the mansion for a few days, but her closeness to him was already clear from the way she addressed him.

"I just said it casually, Sister Lin, don't be angry."

Jia Baoyu was criticized, but he did not get angry. Instead, he shamelessly begged for mercy.

We randomly picked up the topic of rouge and powder and started chatting.

But it made Lin Daiyu feel more annoyed.

I am afraid of comparison in everything. If there were no other men around me, I might still feel that way.

A handsome and gentle man like Jia Baoyu is rare in the world.

But compared with the upright man like Jia Cong, Jia Baoyu, who is full of feminine smell, will only be annoying.

……

A journey of more than thirty miles can be said to be long, but it can also be said to be short.

Around noon, the carriages and horses had already entered the territory of Xishan.

The troops of the Beijing camp had already arranged the camping sites for each family in advance.

A large camp was set up around the eastern foot of Xishan Mountain.

But at the entrance of the camp, an accident happened again.

"stop!"

Watching the Jia family’s convoy approaching from afar.

A group of soldiers from the Beijing camp rode forward on horseback and blocked the Jia family's convoy outside the camp.

Hundreds of troops from the capital rose up and directly confronted the ghost soldiers under Jia Cong.

"According to the order from the top, in order to protect the safety of the nobles in the camp, strictly check the vehicles and horses entering!"

A captain from the Beijing camp came on horseback, holding a whip in his hand.

One of the two centurions following behind him shouted loudly.

(End of this chapter)